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Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Rugged Servers (1st)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is 2.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 8.2%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge XR-Series2.7%
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers8.2%
Other89.1%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Sherpard  Muzuva - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Manager at SYSTEMS INTEGRATED LTD (SYMPHONY)
Reliable servers have supported critical banking workloads and reduced downtime and costs
For improvements on Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I suggest enhancements in the support features, such as implementing a feature where the system can call home to Dell support to open a call automatically. Ideally, as a customer, I would just receive a message stating that a call has been opened, and if it's a failed hard disk, it should already be ordered automatically without much intervention for the customer. Many customers rarely check their systems in the data center, so I would love to see major improvements in health monitoring features that allow the system to automatically send alerts to Dell, open calls, and send parts automatically or implement self-healing features whereby a system can detect certain errors and try to correct itself unless it involves something permanent that it cannot correct. These are the features I expect in the new versions of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series to make the management and support of the system easier.
Mike Bellemans - PeerSpot reviewer
Project manager at Sopraco NV
One of the products in the market that is the easiest to set up and maintain
Performance and scalability-wise, there are certain areas where the product lacks and needs improvement as it does not provide a lot of fancy features presently. In general, it is a normal product that is good enough for our company. For the time being, my company does not need any extra features.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The storage and the disc performance in terms of IOPS is great because of the RAID card which is built-in."
"Using these servers has helped to reduce unplanned production downtime."
"Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is very popular and we are selling this as a standard."
"Dell XR2 Rugged Server's technology is always on the competitive edge, with the most current technology."
"Dell PowerEdge servers have helped reduce unplanned production downtime by approximately 30% because we are able to handle issues immediately."
"Stability, good performance, and good tools to manage the system are the best features for me."
"Using Dell PowerEdge servers has indeed affected the overall flexibility of my customer's operations and businesses."
"Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is better compared to other servers and runs more efficiently, with stability and reliability that have been good so far."
"We have not experienced any issues with the Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers' performance, as it is stable."
"Technical support was very good. IBM support is very helpful."
"The installation and configuration are a bit difficult but the product's performance is unbeatable."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are scalable."
"The product is designed to make adding RAM and disk space easier for users."
"The product scales well."
"They have taken a lot of technology from IBM, and IBM always delivered very powerful hardware to the IT industry compared to Dell EMC or anyone else."
"Easy integration with UPS systems provides added convenience and efficiency for our operations."
 

Cons

"In comparison with them, Dell hardware and services are good and fine, but they do not have any own operating systems."
"My assessment of the new Dell PowerEdge servers for energy consumption is that energy consumption is on par with what I've used in the past. I can't say it's been any better or any worse."
"Customization could be improved; more customization options are needed."
"There are many areas to improve in Dell PowerEdge XR-Series."
"For improvements on Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I suggest enhancements in the support features, such as implementing a feature where the system can call home to Dell support to open a call automatically."
"The support could work faster, but that is the only small thing that could be better."
"Certainly, the first negative aspect is the cost because the biggest challenge today is the way component costs are going higher."
"Dell XR2 Rugged Server could improve if there was more customization allowed."
"HP has a riser inside, but Lenovo does not have a riser. It would be good to have a riser with Lenovo. The GUI of the system is really bad. HP has a very good UI for smart memories and everything inside, but in Lenovo, we have a black-and-white UI. HP right now manufactures a server with scalable SP1 and SP2 on a single machine, which is not the case with Lenovo. They are changing the machine. For SP 1, there is one server, and for SP2, there is another server, which is really bad. In HP, we can use two models of processors in a single case. Lenovo should also be improved to have SP1 and SP2 scalable processors simultaneously on a single machine. They should not release another machine. This issue is also there in H3650 severs. They are all inside, but only V3 CPU or only v4 CPU can work, whereas, in HBG9, we can deploy V3 and V4 simultaneously. Lenovo also needs to advertise more because I can't see advertisements anywhere."
"There are other solutions that are less expensive."
"Its price could be better. Its price is sometimes an issue for our clients."
"IBM hardware takes time for building/assembling."
"The GUI of the system is really bad. HP has a very good UI for smart memories and everything inside, but in Lenovo, we have a black-and-white UI."
"I would like the solution to be improved by having more advanced utilities."
"The cost is a bit pricey."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could improve the availability of their solution. The supply chain is severely broken, we've had to wait many months for component parts to a system time after time. The availability of discs and raid controllers has been difficult lately."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of one Dell XR2 Rugged Server is approximately $10,000."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"The cost of the solution depends entirely on the client. There are not any additional costs other than the standard licensing fee."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are cheaper than HPE...It is a good product that offers value for money."
"I don't know the exact amount of money, but when I compared it to Dell or HPE, Lenovo was the best when it comes to price and equipment."
"Other than the standard licensing fees there are no other additional costs. The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could be better, and the availability of the solution could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"It costs around $8,000. There is an additional cost for the support for a year."
"As the costs got high, we had to use the virtualization feature to consolidate the server farm.​"
"Its pricing is very competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Outsourcing Company
13%
University
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
I find Dell PowerEdge's pricing reasonable. The price has been reasonable until now, and we cannot blame them because any other vendor is facing the same situation. Servers and hardware components ...
What needs improvement with Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
For improvements on Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I suggest enhancements in the support features, such as implementing a feature where the system can call home to Dell support to open a call automatica...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
I still have experience with Dell products, particularly as I'm still working with Dell PowerEdge and others. I've been mostly dealing with Dell PowerEdge. We recently deployed Dell PowerEdge to ou...
How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....
 

Also Known As

XR2 Rugged Server
SR Series, Lenovo SR Series, ThinkSystem Rack Servers, IBM Rack Servers, ThinkSystem SR Series, Lenovo Rack Servers,
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

DIGISTOR - Secure Data Storage
immixGroup, Komsomolskaya Pravda, SRG Global, Seekr, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, jKool, Tennis Australia, VEKA, Netpoints, Gamma Powersports
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.